There ’s been a lot of talk of the town about AI microcomputer this twelvemonth . But so far , it ’s been a circumstances of hoopla — and not much else .
I ’ve just come back from a trip to Berlin to see thebest laptops at IFApowered by newfangled chipsets fromIntel , AMD , andQualcomm . Alongside many new products launching soon , I saw a construct highlighting a distant future for computers and a visual sense of how utile AI could actually be .
The Lenovo AI Twist PC is a concept that allows you to open up and end the palpebra with a simple vocalisation mastery . Other notable feature right now include being able to succeed you around the room — ideal if you like to pace during a video call — take a panorama of the elbow room and sync with a ballerina movie that showcases the tractability of the unequalled flexible joint mechanism .
Finally , this was n’t just another machine with Copilot . No — it was a laptop computer that in reality took the estimation of AI seriously , establish into the hardware itself . It was just a construct , but it sure made me emotional for the future of AI PCs .
The challenge for the mobility-impaired
The central feature on the Lenovo AI Twist PC that stood out was opening and closing the lid with a bare vocalisation command . Millions of people have health conditions that impair mobility , and as some disease educate over time , many will have used a laptop computer at one stage in their lives .
I ’ve experience firsthand how useful a intersection with a voice - control flexible joint would be .
reckon arouse up one twenty-four hour period and gain it ’s now too dreadful to open up a laptop lid , specially if it does n’t have an easy lip to seize onto . Beyond major wellness atmospheric condition , there are also incurable diseases such as arthritis that can make typewriting and bare actions like opening a laptop incredibly difficult . Over meter , these term become progressively worse , and I ’ve seen firsthand how all of a sudden being unable to do thing you used to can bear upon your genial wellness as well .
For all of these users , opening and close your laptop with just your articulation can ply a exemption that did n’t exist before this concept . Windows and Mac have long provided approachability and voice ascendency features to help pilot the OS with your voice , but none have been able to affect the hardware , just the software once you are enter . The Lenovo AI Twist microcomputer shows that a spokesperson - spark off hinge could still be the result that ’s needed .
What else could you control with your voice?
The AI Twist PC is a circumscribed proof of conception , and there are no warranty that Lenovo will make this ware a reality for anyone to buy . However , if they were to , what other features could you assure with your voice , and what problems could it solve ?
For the same people who have mobility issues , what about adjusting the posture of the hinge ? Instead of just saying , “ Hey , Twist , enter the palpebra , ” what if you could say , “ Hey , Twist , enter the eyelid for a video call , ” and it recognized the exact slant at which it postulate to be opened ? I ’ve previously had spinal fusion surgery , and for several month , simple action like adjust the chapeau of my MacBook proved to be quite painful .
The challenges with a hardware-only approach
The achiever of Apple hardware has always been down to its desegregation with the software . With ascendence over both parts , Apple can integrate features deeply to achieve specific goals . Lenovo has proven that it can do so — the Aura Edition announced at IFA in partnership with Intel is a groovy example of this — but to achieve a true phonation - control computing future , Microsoft would require to establish financial support flat into Windows .
Imagine a world where you say , “ Hey , Twist , open , ” it opens the chapeau , adjusts the angle , and Windows Hello mechanically logs you in . Perhaps we go further , and it knows that you have a video call , so it mechanically launch Meet , Zoom , or Teams base on the calendar invite . The power of a movable hardware flexible joint is that it can enable an entirely new experience controlled by representative that could bring freedom to those without .
Now imagine the same hinge but in a convertible merchandise like the Yoga XYZ . If you have loved ones who live alone , a voice - hold version of one of those product could enable you to be their remote support . Need help cooking ? A quick vocalism command fires up a television call and flip the keyboard over so it ’s in tablet mode .
The same could apply to helping solve any job . Having experienced grievous mobility take after my spinal surgery and having conduct with elderly people who clamber to dribble or aline their positioning without enduring bother , the future of vocalisation control has me in truth excited about its potential encroachment in help people . None of these are new use cases , but using a laptop instead of a lozenge could be a unique answer .
Is this the first step toward a voice-controlled AI PC in the future?
Many concepts do n’t become viable Cartesian product , but this clip finger uniquely unlike . The hinge on the Lenovo AI Twist PC seemed to work fairly well , with strong flexibleness in terms of movement and the power to aline the angle . The ballerina demonstration was a enceinte example of how flexible this flexible joint is , and its mobility in following you around the room has applications that extend far beyond video calls .
The Lenovo AI Twist PC feels like a braggy step in the right direction . It ’s the first time we ’ve seen a troupe try something like this , and it has spurred me to think of all the unlike people it could have a mark wallop upon . Whether it ’s an ongoing chronic condition or a freak occurrence that break up your life — like the PT sojourn that result in my spinal surgery — I ’ve go through at first hand how utilitarian a mathematical product with a voice - controlled flexible joint would be .
This concept was designed with very specific demonstration in mind . Even with two PCs playing the same video recording , each acted slightly differently regarding reaction time and liquidness . It ’s bid a construct for a reason , but the best part of a concept is imagining how it could change our lives . Many concepts often lack clear defined use typesetter’s case — Motorola ’s phone as a watch construct at MWC is a good example — but the Lenovo AI Twist PC is dissimilar , as it ’s clean just how utile it could be .
It also show that true unreal intelligence information is about more than just make funky graphic , removing objects , and editing to produce a specific image : When done right , AI could help the world embrace technology in Modern and marvellous ways . I hanker for a time to come where technology is truly sound , and the Lenovo AI Twist PC is a step toward making that future a reality .